


Love You Dearly

by Tripmatt



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - 1940s, Alternate Universe - High School, Bullying, Homophobia, M/M, Post World War II, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-18
Updated: 2014-05-16
Packaged: 2018-01-18 20:40:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1442119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tripmatt/pseuds/Tripmatt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>1940's High School AU<br/><i>(read the additional tags for warnings and triggers</i>)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. New Kid

**Author's Note:**

> Some plot lines and themes to this fic are very serious topics.  
> It is advised to read the additional tags if you have any triggers before reading.

               He padded out the slight wrinkles in his bold and blue varsity jacket, keeping an eye on the road. Donnie bought him a sleek new hotrod, charcoal black, for his last year in high school. Damn right did he want to look good showing it off. Both hands returned on the wheel, spinning the tires to make a brash entrance into the student parking lot.

               There wasn’t any assigned parking but that didn’t keep students from placing dibs on the closest spots to the entrance they could get. Some unwritten rule dictated that senior football players got the front lot. They were the schools hotshots and model students. No one had the time, much less nerve, for the sort of ridicule they would get for parking in one Jimmy Vega’s car space. Of course, quarterback and football captain Kaidan Alenko got the spot next to the entrance, no question’s asked.

               That’s why, when the shiny new black Buick pulled up to its space, it was unnerving to find that it was occupied by a large abused white pickup. At least, one would assume the truck was white. It was hard to tell by the rust and dirt caked onto the outer layer of the car. Kaidan rustled a hand through his gelled hair and huffed. The nerve of some people. He sped his car around the parking lot and angrily pulled into a space much too far from the entrance for his preference. Oh, was someone going to get a piece of him.

               He slammed the car door to announce his presence. His hands found their way to the collar of his jacket, where he puffed it up. Looks were everything. Especially in a delicate situation where his parking spot was taken the day he got a new car. The senior marched to the entrance of his school, pushing aside the other students making their way indoors.

               A tall and brutish blonde stood leaning against a locker caught Kaidan’s eye. Unfortunately for him, the blonde noticed first.

               “Alenko! Hey honcho! Heard you got a new ride?!” The large intimidating jock barreled his way toward Kaidan. He tensed up his shoulders and braced himself as the jock punched an unnecessary slap into his shoulder.

               “Yeah, Grunt. I’d be happier about it if it wasn’t for some damn yuck that parked in my spot,” he rubbed at the excess pain in his shoulder. Even though Kaidan had built up bulk from the after school curriculum he was involved in, Grunt was still a big guy. Probably the biggest in the school if you lined all the students up. He even surpassed Vega, and that’s saying something. Unlike Vega, Grunt was born big and stayed big no matter what he did that could interfere with his mass.

               “Yep. The new guy. We tried cornering him about it before you got here but school staff dragged him off before I could break his face in. He’s gotten quite the few looks. I even saw that pretty girl you like, Rahna, peerin’ over at him when he stepped through those doors,” Grunt mentioned with a nudge toward the entrance.

               “New guy?” Kaidan’s curiosity peeked at the mention of a new student. No new kid was going to take his girl or the spotlight away from him. Much less take his parking space.“Where’d they drag him to?”

               Grunt shrugged again, “I think they dragged him to the Principal’s office. Kid looked a little tired.”

               Kaidan pushed passed the lumberjack and stalked towards the offices in the front. Students occupied all the chairs outside the Principal’s office in the waiting area. He ignored the glares he got as he passed them. He rested his shoulder on the door frame, causing some grimaces from the students waiting to get in. The new boy hadn’t noticed the sudden vulture eyeing him as prey, but the principal had.

               “Is there a problem Mr. Alenko?”

               “No Dr. Hackett. I just thought I’d introduce myself to the new kid.”

               Surprised, the new kid jerked his head around and peered back at the intruder. The morning light peering in through the window constricted his pupils, showing off those blue eyes of his. He had a glare that could compete with Kaidan’s own.

               “Well then,” the Principal motioned his hand toward the boy, “Introduce yourself.”

               Kaidan pulled himself off the doorframe and walked next to the boy’s seat. He held his hand out waiting for the boy to take it and shake on behalf of a greeting. No such event happened. The boy continued staring idly out the window with a sincere look of annoyance glossed over his face. Kaidan figured the boy continued to pretend he didn’t exist. He awkwardly coughed to stir the silence.

              “Wow, no need to get too personal buddy. We all need our space,” Kaidan jested sarcastically.

               “John, this is Kaidan,” The principal butted in, “Maybe you could get to know each other. Making friends will make your last year at a new school easier.”

               John arose abruptly from his seat, still looking annoyed. He held out his hand. Kaidan took it quicker than he should have, a smirk of victory showed on his face, “Hey John. I’m Kaidan.”

               “Shepard. It’s Shepard,” The boy remarked, brow still sharply furrowed. His movements were stiff and uncomfortable. He looked like the quiet type that would bring a gun to school. Now that the boy was eyelevel with him, Kaidan noted the slight small scars of his face. One of the more prominent ones started on his forehead and disappeared into his hairline and behind his hair, “Call me John and we’ll have an issue.”

               They sized each other up, glaring at each other like two alpha males. Still holding each other’s hands in the firm embrace of the handshake, the Principal gave an awkward cough and kicked them out of his office. Kaidan jerked his hand back to his side and fumbled first out the door, Shepard closely followed behind.

               “What can of worms have I unleashed,” the Principal said underneath his breath as the two boys exited his office.

               Kaidan waited until they were a good distant away from any student before he turned around and confronted Shepard face to face, “Look kid, I don’t know who you think you are, but we have some rules we got to lay down.”

               Shepard rolled his eyes and pushed passed him. Kaidan grabbed his arm to pull him back and almost instantly the new kid whipped around and slugged him in the right eye. Kaidan stumbled back holding his hands up to shield his face. Too dazed and surprised to fight back, Shepard grabbed Kaidan by the collar and pulled him up to his face. Rage soured his eyes, “I don’t answer to you or nobody else. I don’t need no knucklehead daddy’s boy to tell me what to do.”

               Shepard pushed Kaidan to the ground and stomped off to find his classes.

*

               “Damn Kaidan, it looks like your growing an extra face with that sucker plastered over your eye.”

               Kaidan rubbed at the swollen skin around his eye, wincing at the pain. “Shut it Vega. No one needed your meat hole to start talking.”

               “My sincerest apologize pequeño hombre enojado,” James said tugging on his helmet, “So how’d you get it?”

               Kaidan latched the helmet hook underneath his chin to secure it in place. He ignored James deliberately as he maneuvered passed him and exited the locker room. Grunt smirked knowingly. Kaidan was pretty obligated on confronting the new kid this morning. It’s only been since last class period that he started growing the massive pink lump on his face.

               After the team finished putting their gear together, the group of boys marched onto the playing field to practice for the upcoming big game.Grunt caught up behind Kaidan and bashed a playful fist into his shoulder. “So I take you hit it off well with the new kid? This is like the Verner thing all over again.”

               “Shut it, Grunt.”

*

               The first two classes were hard to find. The school was big. Much bigger than where he had come from.  Shepard had five periods a day, mostly consisting of classes he already took at his old school. The content, unsurprisingly, was the same too.

               His first class was health. Upon entering the teacher didn’t look twice at him, allowing him the awkward position of finding an empty seat. He peered over the multitude of faces, some interesting ones, all looking like they had a story to tell.

               “Are you just here to observe the class or are you going to take a seat?” the teacher had finally stopped lecturing and asked him.

               “S-Sorry I… I-um just don’t know where to sit,” Shepard stuttered, fumbling with his books. The whole class turned to peer over at the intruder.

               “Mr. Shepard I take it?” the teacher asked with a foreign accent. English perhaps.

               “Yes Ma’am.”

               “Mr. Vakarian,” The older woman turned to a boy near the front of the classroom chewing on a pencil, “If you would so kindly stop using the extra desk as a foot rest.”

               The strawberry blonde with sharp greased back hair let out an exasperated sigh and one by one, slammed his shoes on the tiled floor. After the seemingly dramatic response to following orders, the kid resumed chewing on his pencil.

               Shepard shifted past all the desks until he made it to the front. He still had almost full attention from the whole class until the teacher resumed her lecture on healthy eating. He sat down, shoulders slumped and elbows resting, trying to avoid the glare of the gruff boy next to him.

               “What’s your name?” The boy asked quietly.

               Shepard quickly glanced over at him, "None of your damn business.”

               The blonde smirked and turned in his seat, “Nice to meet you, ‘none of your damn business’”

~

               The second class was even harder to find. It was shoved into one of the dark crevices of the school and a couple students whispered rumors about “the Vampire Teacher”, or Shepard’s favorite, “The Succubus.” Shepard grumbled when he saw the class printed on the schedule.

               _Art History 101_

The class lived up to its reputation. The teacher more so. And unsurprisingly, he found one or two familiar faces from health class peering over at him as he walked in. The desks were arranged in twos. Everyone sat next to someone.

               The eccentric busty teacher stopped everything she was doing the moment he walked in.

               “Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in,” the teacher lowered her gaze at him, “You’re the John kid I suppose.”

               “It’s Shepard. I just go by Shepard, Ms...” Shepard squinted at the teachers name printed on his schedule.

               Garrus smirked, yet again, sitting in the front of the class. There was probably a behavioral reason why he always seemed to be front and center, where the teacher could keep an eye on him.

               “I just go by Morinth. It saves the trouble of pronouncing my last name. Here I’ll tell you what, new kid,” A devilish grin appeared on her face, “why don’t you pick a seat next to the prettiest girl in class.”

               The class erupted in whispers and giggles. He looked over the room and noticed almost every pairing had at least one girl. All of them except where that damn blonde boy sat. And he was alone. Go figure. Shepard looked over his choices and just surrendered a spot next to Mr. Vakarian.

               Mostly the class was quiet, except for a couple laughs and scoffs.

               “That’s a _boy,_ Mr. Shepard,” the teacher narrowed at him.

               Shepard turned in his seat and looked at the blonde grinning next to him.

               “You’re a _boy_?!” Shepard exclaimed.

               The class busted out with laughter and the teacher glared at Shepard. She’d been bested at her own game, in front of her own class.

               After the hysteria died down, the lecture was over, and the students were conversing amongst themselves, Shepard engrossed himself by doodling on his notebook.

               “You’re alright Mr. ‘none of your damn business.’” Came a voice from beside him. Shepard stopped doodling and looked over at the blonde.

               “It’s Shepard. You can call me Shepard,” Shepard mirrored the boys smirk and continued drawing bad renditions of WWII fighter planes on his notebook.

               “I kinda liked your old name better. But I suppose ‘Shepard’ is fewer syllables,” the boy held out his hand, “I’m Garrus.”

               Shepard looked at the hand as if it was some sort of alien custom. Instead he peered up at Garrus and nodded as a gesture of truce between the two.

               “So you’re the new kid.”

               “Unfortunately,” Shepard shifted in his seat. Weary of starting a conversation.

               “Where’d you come from?”

               “The bible belt.”

               “So you’re a farm boy?Or just from a small town?”Garrus asked.

               “A bit of both. I worked on a farm and drove twenty miles each day to go to school.”

“Your school must’ve been a lot smaller than this damn place,” Garrus gestured toward the class.

               “Yeah. It was. Religious too.”

               “Good luck at this place,” Garrus began, “Here it’s a damn aristocracy.”

               Shepard looked at Garrus with a puzzled expression.

               “If you aren’t a pretty dolly like Miri over there, don’t expect to be popular with the girls,” Garrus began, “And if you aren’t rich like the football captain don’t expect to be in the ups with the guys.”

               “I fail to see the aristocracy part of this whole equation.”

               “You must be dumber than you look.” Garrus leaned in closer, “They’re the kids that the teachers and students adore and love. They are the ones that win prom queen and king and get on student council. They are the ones whose parents know the principal and the football coach. Pissing one of them off can lead to a whole lot of bad business.”

               “So they ‘run the school’?”

               “Yeah, basically.”

               Shepard smirked and leaned back in his seat, “I’d like to see one of them try to do something to me.”

               “That’s what I said. Some of them you can screw with for like rep and stuff. But there are others who you wouldn’t want to touch with a twenty foot pole.  One kid picked a fight with Vega and got jumped in the car lot. Stayed in the hospital for a solid three days and the school didn’t do a thing. Another kid punched Alenko. That one ended badly.”

               “What did the Alenko kid do?” Shepard hid his anxiousness under a gruff sense of curiosity.

              “It wasn’t what Alenko did. It was what Alenko’s parents did. The poor kid’s name was Conrad. Long story short, when Alenko’s parents couldn’t have him thrown away for breaking their baby boy’s nose they settled for having Conrad’s dad thrown in the slammer for false charges.”

               “How the hell did they pull that off?”

               Before Garrus could respond the bell rung and the students rushed out of the class.

~

               Biology. Shepard’s least favorite subject. The class was crowded and the classroom was dark with no windows. And yet again, he was late.

               “Ah new student. Good, good, welcome. Come, introduce yourself to the class.”

               Shepard’s eyes widened as the thin, tall, jumpy professor grabbed him and pulled him to the front of the room. Shepard stood bewildered for a bit, looking at the staring vultures glaring back at him.

               “Well? What’s your name? You must have a name.”

               “Uh… Shepard I guess.”

               “You guess? Insufficient. Educated guess… perhaps. Let’s find you a lab partner.”

               Shepard looked over the class, and unsurprisingly saw a few of the same faces. No Garrus unfortunately. The gorgeous broad with the wavy black hair had been in all of his classes so far. He had seen the short skinny brunette with the purple scarf in his last class.

               Oh. And there _he_ was. Swollen face and all.

               “Mr. Alenko. No partner today I see? Well we can fix that. Mr. Shepard, if you would, sit next to that boy right there?” The professor pointed to Mr. Swollen face.

               “Dr. Solus, I already have a partner,” Kaidan said frantically, “She’s just absent today.”

               A loud outspoken voice erupted from the back of the class, “What is it Alenko? Afraid of getting a matching pair of eyes?”

               Kaidan turned in his seat, and if looks could kill, gave an apocalyptic glare at the large brutish blonde in the back of the class.

               “Yes, yes Alenko. You and Ms. T’Soni make great partners. Both straight A students. Both have an exceptional understanding of biology. Perhaps the both of you could switch to different partners? Would help other students better understand biology.”

               The professor nudged Shepard toward the football player. Shepard sat down and folded his arms, leaning back in his seat. Kaidan gave a resigned sigh. Shepard glanced over at him and noticed the muscles on his arms and his soft coffee brown eyes.

               “What in hell are you staring at?” Kaidan roughed up defensively.

               “Ah. Love at first sight,” The professor remarked going back to his lesson.

*

               “So Kaidan,” Donnie said from across the dinner table, “Mind telling me where you got that?”

               Kaidan glanced up from his pork roast, shuffling the peas with his fork. “It’s nothing.”

               “Nothing my ass. Tell me why half your face looks like shit.”

               Mrs. Alenko remained silent. Kaidan gripped his fork tighter trying to avoid answering.

               “Well boy are you going to answer me? Or are you going to sit there like your deaf?”

               Kaidan paused, thinking of what to say. He didn’t want what happened to Conrad happen to anyone else. Even if Shepard was an asshole. “I got it at football practice.”

               “That’s bullshit and you know it,” the gruff greasy man said almost instantly, “The coach said otherwise. You got that sucker before practice. You too girl to live up to what happened? Some kid beat the shit out of you because you can’t grow a sack?”

               The smell of alcohol on Donnie’s breath reeked, even across the table. Kaidan hated the fact that he was drinking buddies with his coach. He could barely keep any secrets.

               Kaidan gave a sharp look across the table and glanced at his mother. Mrs. Alenko coughed and folded the napkin in her lap, looking down. Unable to make eye contact with her son. The man sitting across from him didn’t belong in his house, sitting next to his mother, eating his food. He hated him but couldn’t say it.

               “I got somethin’ to say kid,” Donnie bellowed, fidgeting with the collar of his unbuttoned police uniform, “I’m going to be your new dad soon. I leave for work at eight in the morning and I don’t come back until seven at night, and I do it to support this family. You’re going to respect me like you should respect a father.”

               Bewildered, Kaidan dropped his fork and stared at his mom, his mouth opened but was unable to form any words.

               “That’s right kid. Jose and I are gettin’ hitched.” Unable to contain his anger anymore, Kaidan jolted from his seat and stampeded away. Before making it to the door, Donnie had come up from behind him and slammed it shut. “Where do you think you’re going kid. We’re having a family dinner.”

               Kaidan turned around and looked at his mother. Betrayed and in denial, it took everything inside of him not to cry. She still wouldn’t look at him. The impatient man next to him leaned in closer. Kaidan took a deep breath,

               “You will never be my father.”


	2. Bruises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poorly written smut near the end

His parking spot was taken again. Same damn ugly truck too. He really didn’t want to deal with this today.

               Kaidan slammed his car door and fumed into the school. He ignored the rowdy football crowd greeting him upon entering and made his way to Shepard who was shoving things in his locker.

               Shepard noticed the presence of Alenko when the tension around him rose. He shut his locker and turned around to face the burly jock.

               “What do you want daddy’s boy?” Shepard frowned. He noticed the growing looks of football players and students around him.

               “Who the hell do you think you are?” Alenko said, smashing Shepard against the locker. More students looked their way.

               “Someone who is tired of assholes like you,” Shepard replied pushing Kaidan back. Kaidan stumbled and quickly regained his composition. In retaliation and pent up anger, he slammed his fist into Shepard’s jaw. Almost instantly, Shepard grabbed the football player by the fabric of his jersey and threw him onto the crowd of unsuspecting students.

Kaidan got up and smoothed out the wrinkles left from Shepard’s grip. He lunged forward toward the pissed off boy and caught a punch to his chest. The two boys were suddenly on top of each other, beating the living hell out of one another. Eventually, Kaidan got the upper hand and pinned Shepard to the ground. He straddled his waist and held his hands above his head.

               After a moments realization, Shepard looked up at the panting student. He stared up at the brown eyes fuming with anger and confusion and noticed something different about Alenko. He was _really_ attractive. Shepard cocked his hips forward a bit; the sensation of his groin against Kaidan’s ass had him hard. They both realized it.

               Kaidan jolted up off Shepard and pushed pass the crowd of students. Shepard laid there, gathering his thoughts, bending his knee to hide his reaction to the revelation of how beautiful the quarterback was.

               Garrus came over and helped him up. Shepard brushed off his plaid shirt and headed off to Health.

*

               The coach pulled Kaidan aside, his thick New Zealand accent jerking the player out of his mental haze. “What the hell has gotten into you Alenko? You’re playing like a drunken kangaroo!”

               “Just a little tired Coach. It won’t happen again Coach.”

               “Dr. Hackett wanted to see you in his office. When you get back you better have your head screwed on right and you better know how to throw a goddamn ball. I’ll let you off this one damn time.”

               “Thank you Coach Massani.”

               Kaidan jogged toward the school, unhooking his helmet and holding it underneath his arm. His number 5 jersey was soaked on his chest and on his back. His usually perfect hair stuck to his forehead and sweat dripped in every crevice of his body. A burst of cool air hit him when he made it inside.

               Miranda stopped him in the middle of the hallway, pushing him off to the side, “I see you’ve been practicing, Alenko. Can I talk to you?”

               “Yeah. Sure. Hackett wants to see me though,” Kaidan could barely make the words out, still out of breath from practice.

               “I won’t be long,” her accent curled around her words, “but I was wondering if you’d go to homecoming with me?”

               “Aw Miri, I promised Rahna I’d go with her,” Kaidan stood up straighter, looking apologetic at Miranda.

               “But Kaidan,” Miranda moved closer to him, inches away from his face, “I’m a much better date than some goody two-shoes. I can make the night worthwhile.”

               Kaidan winced at the sultry in her voice. It was tempting. But he had promised Rahna and with homecoming only a week away they already had picked matching dresses and tuxedos. Kaidan huffed, “Why me? Vega doesn’t have a date.”

               “It’s our senior year, Kaidan. Everyone knows whoever gets to go with you wins Homecoming Queen,” Miranda stated, “You know we’d make a great couple.”

               “I doubt it Miranda. Go find someone else. You could get anyone here.”

~

               The door was already open and Hackett waved his hand for Kaidan to come in. He looked around the room and wasn’t surprised to see a familiar face sitting in one of the seats in front of Hackett’s desk. Kaidan sat down and placed his helmet on the Principal’s desk. He was still soaked with sweat and probably smelled too.

               “So I heard you two have been haven’t been getting along,” Hackett started.

               “Are you kidding? We’re two peas in a pod,” Shepard said with a shit eating grin on his face.

               “I- We… he’s,” Kaidan tried explaining the situation, trying to avoid anything going on his permanent record. In the end failing to say much at all.

               “So what exactly was this fight about?” Hackett began playing with a pen on his desk, twisting it around his fingers to ease himself in all the tension.

               “He punched me in the face and stole my parking spot,” Kaidan replied almost immediately.

               “He’s an asshole,” Shepard rebutted.

               Hackett took a deep sigh and got up from his chair. He made his way around his desk and stood behind the two students. “At Alliance High School we don’t tolerate violence. Now Kaidan, you are a model student-perfect grades, perfect attendance, and top of the football team. I’d hate to screw your perfect record up with this incident. And Shepard, you’re new here. I’ve read your file and you haven’t had it easy lately.”

               Hackett placed both hands on both of the kids shoulder’s and leaned forward between the two, “How about we come to an agreement?”

               “What do you have in mind?” Kaidan asked.

               “Since Conrad transferred schools, we’re short one player on the football team,” Hackett let go of his grip. Both of the boys turned to look at the principal, worried where this was going, “I think Shepard would be a great addition. And plus you can use this time to bond as friends. Or at least non-hostile acquaintances.”

               “That’s a terrible idea!” Shepard exclaimed.

               “I concur. That would only end badly,” Kaidan agreed.

               "Well here's the deal," Hackett bribed, "Shepard joins the football team and Kaidan trains him. Or the both of you will have a one week suspension. Including Homecoming."

               "I'm in," Kaidan panicked.

               "I don't give a rats ass about a week suspension," Shepard smirked.

               "I'll notify Anderson of your behavior," Hackett threatened to Shepard.

               "I'm in."

~

               "Why so angry girly?" Diana leaned over and whispered to Miranda.

               "Kaidan turned me down. Kaidan turned _me_ down," Miranda huffed.

               A quiet gasp left Allers mouth, "No..."

               "Yep."

               "I heard he got in a fight with that Shepard kid this morning. Fists were involved," Diana reported, "That'd be a good way to get back at him. He hates that kid. Go with him to prom. And he ain't that bad looking either. Make him jealous."

               Miranda rounded her lips in deep thought, "He's a nobody though. Plus he looks kind of dirty."

               "Make him a somebody then. Kelly told me Hackett wants Shepard on the football team. Start there." Diana observed Miranda like she was making notes, "Make Kaidan regret turning down _thee_ Miranda Lawson."

~

 

               “Would you hold still? I’ll never get your helmet on at this rate,” Kaidan tugged the hook at the bottom of Shepard’s helmet, “If we wait any longer, coach will have both our asses.”

               The hook snapped and Shepard adjusted the helmet accordingly. Kaidan pushed him by the shoulder guards and led him outside to the other students.

               “Well, well, well,” Grunt spoke up as the boys approached, “If it isn’t Alenko and New Kid. Surprised to see you two not slugging at each other.”

               “Shepard. Call me Shepard.”

               “Now ladies!” the Coach announced, “We’ve only got 20 minutes of practice left today and a big game next week! I’ll personally make each and every one of your lives hell if we lose on our homecoming game!”

               The burly team broke off and went to their positions on the field. Shepard stood awkwardly in the middle, unaware of where to go.

               “Alenko! Tell this poor sap what needs to be done!” The coached roared from across the field.

               Kaidan jogged over to Shepard and pulled him over to the side. The coach blew his whistle and the rest of the players began hurling over each other with the football. A worried look came over Shepard when he saw Grunt make a man out of James by almost flinging the large Hispanic across the field.

               “Listen, homecoming game is in a week and it’s one of our first big games of the year. Even though were playing Noveria High it can still be tough,” Kaidan leaned in closer and spoke through the wires in his helmet, “Have you played football before?”

               “Uhm… no.”

               “Dammit. Okay. Okay,” Kaidan gave a resigned sigh, “For today, you’ll play defense. We’ll put you in the middle as a linebacker. You’re only job for now is to tackle whoever has the ball and keep out of Grunt’s way. He’s the blonde that threw Vega a few yards back there. We only have 20 minutes left so we’ll get this sorted out with the coach after practice.”

               Shepard lined up in the field and looked at the names on the Jersey’s in front of him. _Donnelly, Jenkins,_ and _Vega_ were playing on defense, his side. Facing them was _Alenko, Okeer, Taylor,_ and _Cortez-_ the people who were going to be smashing their bodies into them to get the ball to the other side.

               Apart from the taunting coming from the other side, Shepard couldn’t get passed the fact that there was a seething giant on the other team eyeing him down like meat. There was a great chance he would get pummeled and hospitalized by Grunt. _Keep out of Grunt’s way._ Wise words by Alenko Shepard was willing to live by.

               The whistle blew and Taylor threw the ball back to Alenko. Alenko flew through the field at an alarming speed only to be immediately chased by Donnelly and Jenkins. Not knowing what to do, Shepard followed in their footsteps and decided to try and go after the ball. About five feet away from the other two players, Shepard watched the horror unfold as he saw Grunt barrel through both Jenkins and Donnelly. Shepard leaped over their bodies and continued to trail Alenko.

               _Tackle whoever has the ball_ and _Keep out of Grunt’s way_ seemed like two contradictory statements. Luckily, Shepard could run. Unfortunately, he ran out of yards before he could attempt to tackle Alenko to the ground. Something he was looking forward to doing. Alenko threw the ball on the grass and celebrated.

               “Two touchdowns on Alenko's side today. Vega, work on your side. I expect to see results on Monday’s practice. We’re done for the day. Go shower,” Coach Massani commanded.

               “Coach,” Kaidan ran over to the coach, panting, “What about Shepard? He knows barely anything about playing.”

               “Tomorrow’s the weekend, isn’t it boy?” Coach Massani motioned toward Shepard, “Take him home with you and teach him everything he needs to know. I’m going out with Donnie tonight and I’ll be sure to tell him you’ll have guests.”

               Kaidan groaned and gave a pained look at Shepard.

               “Is something wrong Alenko?”

               “No Coach, nothing is wrong.”

~

               Shepard waited in the locker room for the team to finish showering. When he finally heard the last faucet turn off he began to head into the showers. He didn’t have any soap or shampoo.

               When he entered the stalls he noticed Alenko hadn’t even stripped yet. Alenko faced the wall, away from Shepard and looked down at the ground. After a few moments he pulled off his jersey and threw his shoulder guard off to the side. He turned the faucet on and pulled his boxers down. Soon he was bare and naked under the stream of water.

               Shepard looked at his tanned tone back. He peered behind him to make sure none of the other players or the coach could catch him ogling. It was just him and Alenko.

               Kaidan poured shampoo into the palm of his hand and began scrubbing at his scalp. He turned to face Shepard, dipped his head under the water and closed his eyes. The view would’ve been much more pleasing if it wasn’t for the trail of bruises leading from his chest down to his stomach. Shepard stuck his head out farther and looked a little harder. There were bruises littered everywhere.

               A large black one was on his arm and traveled to his chest. There was no way this could be from football. Maybe a couple of them, but not all, even playing with Grunt.

               Shepard tried to look away. He felt awful intruding on Kaidan’s personal space. He also felt like a creep. He almost managed going back into the locker room until Kaidan collapsed on the tiled floor and began crying.

               By instinct, Shepard ran over to Kaidan and leaned down next to him.

               “Kaidan!? Are you alright?” Shepard refrained from wrapping his arm around Kaidan’s shoulder.

               “Shepard-? Leave me alone!” Kaidan pushed Shepard away and reached up to turn off the faucet. Shepard handed him a towel while he fumbled for his clothes. Kaidan grabbed the towel and instead of using it to cover-up his delicates he used it to conceal the bruises away from Shepard’s sight.

               Ashamed and slightly embarrassed Shepard strode into the locker room and waited for Kaidan to get dressed. After a few short moments and some cuss words coming from the showers, he heard the padded footsteps of Alenko. Kaidan walked passed Shepard without even acknowledging his presence. His face was red and his eyes were glossy.

               When the door slammed on the locker room Shepard finally got undressed and made it to the showers. Boy, was he going to be late for Biology.

~

               “I hope this isn’t going to be an everyday occurrence Mr. Shepard,” the professor announced upon his arrival, “mind explaining why you’re ten minutes late to class?”

               Shepard made a quick glance over at Kaidan who was slouched in his seat and his arms crossed. He didn’t even make the effort to turn around and look at Shepard.

               “I-well-it-,” the whole class had their gaze pinned on Shepard, “Coach Massani wanted to see me.”

               “Okay. Very well. Please take your seat,” the disappointed look was still on the professor’s face. Shepard couldn’t help but feel even worse than he already did.

               When Shepard sat down he felt the icy glare of Kaidan next to him. He didn’t have the heart to meet his eyes; he hadn’t meant to intrude on a personal moment. Something changed when he saw those marks on Kaidan. He felt protective, but in a different way than he did with his little sister. Almost like he _wanted_ Kaidan. He felt that way now, being close to him. Even though the kid probably wanted to bash his skull in.

               Kaidan’s hand dangled on the side of his chair. Shepard looked at that instead of meeting his gaze. He imagined himself twisting their fingers together. He wanted to pull Kaidan away from the class and run away from the school. Steal Kaidan. Keep him as his own.

               It wasn’t until Kaidan nudged his shoulder that he realized he had been caught daydreaming. He had some dumb smile plastered on his face from floating in the clouds. His face turned red as he realized Kaidan had been staring at him this entire time and saw the whole daydreaming sequence unfold.

               Damn.

               Kaidan slid a piece of paper across the table to Shepard. A folded piece of lined paper waiting to be read by his eyes only. What was it going to say? Will you be mine? – Love Kaidan. Or perhaps it will say: We should bang under the bleachers – Love Kaidan.

               Shepard’s heart stopped beating for a couple seconds while he unfolded the paper. He stared at it for a couple seconds, confused. It was an address.

               “Come to my place tonight at five o’clock. Coach wants me to teach you about football. I’d rather do it before Saturday because I have a date with Rahna,” Kaidan said.

               Shepard’s stomach dropped. Who was Rahna? Date? He wanted to interrogate Kaidan but the only words that managed to come out of his mouth were, “Okay.”

*

               “I don’t know how late I’m going to be out,” Shepard announced grabbing his backpack on the way out the door. He kneeled down in front of his little sister, “Anderson will be back from work at around six. Can you handle being around the kids for a few hours?”

               “But what if the monsters come back looking for me?”

               “Ashley,” Shepard looked solemnly down at his little sister, “The monsters are gone. There are no more monsters and if something happens Anderson or one of the other kids like Jack will be there to protect you. I promise nothing will happen.”

               “But they got mom and dad and they almost got you!” tears started to form in her eyes at the thought of being alone and away from her big brother.

               Shepard grabbed her tiny hands in his. “I promise Ash. They are gone. No more monsters.”

               Ashley ran up to Shepard and wrapped her arms around his leg, “but what if they go after you! I won’t be there to protect you!”

               Shepard laughed lightheartedly at Ashley’s logic, “I’ll be fine. Tell Anderson I’ll be out with a boy from school.”

               “Do you like him?” Ashley cocked her head and asked, “Like… like like him?”

               “Ashley!” Shepard leaned farther down to meet her on eyelevel, “That’s our little secret, remember? We can’t have what happened at our old school happen here, okay? No one can know. Even the kids here. You can’t tell _anyone._ Pinky promise me you won’t tell anyone?”

               “Okay,” Ashley looked a little disappointed but she hooked her pinky around her big brother’s finger anyway.

~

               Shepard left a trail of dust as he padded down unfamiliar streets. He pulled up to a beat up dusty gas station off the side of the road. His father’s rusted pickup roared to a stop in the front of the doors. Shepard pulled up the brake and swung the car door open. Dust floating in the air settled on his red leather boots as they made their way into the corner stop.

               “Hey Shepard!” a familiar voice grabbed his attention from behind the counter.

               “Hey Garrus. You work here?” Shepard took a step back as Garrus jumped over the countertop and made his way over.

               “Yeah. I live in the back too,” Garrus pointed to a room located behind the counter, “can I get you something Shep?”

               “Directions, actually,” Shepard uncrumpled the piece of paper Kaidan gave him earlier and squinted his eyes to read the fine cursive, “Where is Alexander?”

               “That’s the fancy side of town. Who you headed to see?” Garrus leaned back against the counter and took an orange box out of his back pocket. He flipped the paper flap open and slid out a cigarette. He looked up and held the box out to Shepard. Reluctantly Shepard grabbed a stick from the foil wrapping.

               “Kaidan Alenko,” Shepard pulled the cigarette up to his mouth, “The principal threw me on the football team after the fight we got into. I know bupkis about sports. The coach is forcing us to meet up so he can teach me.”

               Garrus flicked the lighter and a tiny flame burst to life in his hand. Shepard leaned his head down for the end of his cigarette to meet the fire. He breathed in and immediately coughed up the fumes. He hit the palm of his hand to his chest to catch his breath again.

               “Never smoked before country boy?” Garrus grabbed the cigarette from Shepard and put it in between his lips, quickly putting his unlit one back in the box. Almost naturally, Garrus puffed out clouds of elegant swirls of smoke through his nose and mouth, “Alenko, huh? That explains why you weren’t in second period today. Gotta be honest Shep, you don’t look the like the football players type.”

               “What’s that supposed to mean?” Shepard roughed his shoulders up still catching his breath, “I can be a football player. I got the looks and I’m a runner. I’m the football player type.”

               “That’s not what I mean. I believe you can be a fine football player. I’m talking about Alenko.”

               The statement caught Shepard off-guard, “What?”

               “You know what I mean. I saw the way you looked at Kaidan when he was on top of you this morning. You were completely khaki wacky over him,” Garrus said nonchalantly, “Like I said. You don’t look like his type.”

               A red blush crept across Shepard’s face, “Do you think any of the other kid’s noticed? Do you think he noticed?”

               Garrus laughed, again startling Shepard unexpectedly, “They’re all so dumb and starved of human interaction, they wouldn’t have noticed if you two started making out.”

               Shepard’s face turned redder as he visualized what Garrus said, “How did _you_ know?”

               Garrus shrugged, "A friend of mine is like you. She's liked girls since elementary but she's had it rough."

               “What happened to her?” The sudden interest Shepard gave Garrus made him smirk. Garrus pulled out a brochure from underneath the counter.

               “She admitted her feelings to someone in middle school,” Garrus opened up the folded paper and picked up a pen near the cash register. The paper revealed a multitude of streets and highways littered throughout the town. He circled some key points and drew lines to other places, “She ended up running away from home and ended up in foster care because the situation got so bad.”

               “Who is she?” Shepard hadn’t realized he had leaned halfway over the counter until Garrus jabbed the bottom of the pen into his forehead to push him back.

               “None of your business,” Garrus pointed to the first circle on the map, “Here’s where you are now,” he traced some of his existing marks on the side streets scattered on the side of the map, “Here is the quickest way to Alexandria. The side roads will take you directly there and they’re faster if you speed. Just be wary of any cops. Bailey has it out for us kids, I swear,” He circled the last destination, “Here is Alenko’s house. It’s at the top of Alexandria. You can have this map. Free of charge.”

               Shepard nodded his head and folded the map underneath his arm. Garrus turned away and waved. Shepard stood there for a second contemplating everything he had just said. About Alenko, about the directions, and about everything. “Thanks Garrus.”

               “It’s nothing Shep,” Garrus turned back around to glance at Shepard, “Just be careful okay? Those kids might not have noticed but Alenko sure had.”

               Shepard nodded and swallowed the lump in his throat. He pulled the door open and the bell sounded announcing his departure.

~

               It was perfect. Everything was perfect. It looked like those advertisements labeled “the American Dream” where the housewife was putting pies on the windowsill and the husband came home every day, pushing the gate of the white picket fence open with a briefcase in one hand and a fedora on his head. Shepard had tainted the scenery though when his abused pick up pulled up in front of the house.

               Shepard slammed the car door and made his way to the front of the house. He looked at his watch: 4:00 PM. He was early but maybe he could give an excuse. He hesitated before knocking on the door. Looking down at his dusty clothes, he gave a resigned sigh. Before he could bring his hand up to knock, the door flung open revealing a small and serene woman. She was at least a foot shorter than Shepard and gave off a passive and timid aura.

               “Who are you?” she asked bluntly, not even a hint of a smile.

               “John Shepard Ma’am,” Shepard held his hand out, “I’m supposed to see your son tonight.”

               She looked at the hand for a second before slowly taking it. Her hands were thin and her fingers were long, “I’m Mrs. Alenko. Kaidan’s mother. Kaidan is in his room in the back.”

               Shepard stepped through the door as the small woman sauntered to the kitchen. The house was quiet and the atmosphere was strangely dark. The place was a bit depressing even though not a single doily was out of place. She looked back at Shepard and frowned. He stopped in his tracks at her glare.

               “Take those filthy things outside,” She motioned toward his feet, “I have enough cleaning to do already.”

               Shepard raised his hands up in surrender and pulled off his boots one at a time. He turned around, leaned out the door, and dropped the boots to the side. The mud caked inside the soles of the shoes broke off and fell onto the dainty welcome mat. He really didn't belong here.

               Shepard made his way to the back of the house where she had pointed before and peeked through the cracks of the half open doors to try and find Kaidan’s room. When he couldn’t spot it he turned to the one closed door and held his breath. Maybe he should leave. He felt like he was intruding. Like the showers today. He didn’t want something like that to happen again.

               Gathering up his nerves he finally knocked on Kaidan’s door. A soft groan came from the other end of the door. Shepard’s chest swelled up as he parted his lips to speak.

               “Kaidan, it’s me Shepard.”

               Sheets rustled and something dropped to the floor. After a couple of seconds Shepard heard the patter of footsteps nearing the door. The door handle turned and Shepard’s heart skipped a beat. The door opened slightly revealing a half awake groggy Kaidan.

               “Hey,” Kaidan mumbled.

               “Hey,” Shepard tried his best not to look nervous. What Garrus had said earlier did nothing to calm Shepard’s interest in Kaidan. In fact the whole ‘forbidden love’ seemed to deepen the hole he had dug himself into.

“Come in I guess,” Kaidan held his hand in invitation toward the inside of his bedroom. It felt like stepping into a new world. Shepard looked at him as the light hit his face. He was tired and run down but still gorgeous as ever. Kaidan glanced away from Shepard’s stare and looked at the clock, “You’re here a little early.”

              “Yeah um, there was- I did – and it… well,” The whole excuse thing wasn’t exactly working out. Shepard stopped talking and took a deep breath, “Sorry.”

               “It’s fine. I accidently fell asleep anyway,” Kaidan sat down at the edge of his bed and Shepard sat in the stool near the front of his desk, “I guess I’m just exhausted.”

               “You not sleeping Kaidan?”

               “Maybe a little restless,” Kaidan paused and looked down at the floor, “With football and this thing between us.”

               “ _Us?”_ Shepard’s heart sank.

               “Y-yeah. Us and the way we’ve been fighting,” Kaidan huffed, “I’m usually the kind of guy with self-control. I’m sorry for picking a fight with you Shepard. I hope we can be friends.”

               “S-Sure,” Shepard twiddled his thumbs together. _I hope we can be more than friends,_ “Yeah friends would be great. You seem like a great guy.”

               They sat there awkwardly for almost a minute before Shepard cleared his throat.

               “L-look Shepard. About this morning,” Kaidan got up from his bed and turned to face Shepard.

               _Oh no._ Shepard gulped as he looked around Kaidan’s room nervously. Anywhere to look besides Kaidan’s eyes.

               “You saw a part of me I never wanted to show anyone in the shower this morning,” Kaidan began making frantic hand movements to get his point across, “You can’t tell anyone about those bruises. You hear me? No.one.can.know.”

               The protective feeling Shepard got earlier today blossomed again. It took all of his strength to not let his curiosity overcome him. But this was Kaidan. Friend. Maybe one day best friends. Friends look out for each other.

               “How did you get them?” Shepard leaned forward in the stool.

               “I-It was a car accident,” Kaidan looked down at the ground again. He was lying. Shepard had dealt with enough lying in the past few years.

               “Liar,” Shepard got up from the stool to look at Kaidan head on, “If it was a car accident you wouldn’t be so self-conscious about them. Where did you get them?”

               “Why would you care?” Kaidan looked at Shepard like he hadn’t honestly a clue. Almost like he hadn’t noticed Shepard’s awkward hard on this morning or the ogling in the shower. Was he really that clueless? “You’ve made it perfectly clear Shepard you don’t like me. With you punching me and throwing me around when I’ve barely done anything except said a few words these past few days.” Yeah. He was really that clueless.

               A weight lifted from Shepard’s chest but a new one took its place. He wasn’t worried about the jock making a mockery of him in front of the whole school by him finding out, but now Shepard had this undeniable urge to scream at the top of his lungs his new found affection for the jock. Shepard didn’t answer Kaidan, afraid he might say something he would regret.

               “Look. Fine. I wouldn’t care either,” Kaidan lifted his hands up in surrender, “Let’s just get this over with okay. Coach wants me to teach you a lot so it’s best to just start early. Then you can leave. And do whatever you do.”

               “I do care Kaidan.”

               Kaidan looked back up at Shepard. And then, almost like he was ignoring the whole situation, “Football is played in two halves. Depending on which team gets what you either play offense or defense during the first half of the game. Here sit on my bed. That stool gets uncomfortable.”

               Shepard gave up on communicating to Kaidan so he just listened. He sat down on the bed and let Kaidan bring out various books on football plays. Kaidan ran through different plays. He continuously got up and down from sitting next to Shepard to demonstrating and emphasizing the positions while standing up.

               Shepard had laughed at Kaidan’s overemphasis on describing the field and giggled at his excitement for football. Minutes went by like seconds. They talked about school and people at school. Then they talked more about football. Surprisingly, Shepard was enjoying himself. Kaidan seemed to be enjoying himself too.

A few hours passed and Kaidan grabbed Shepard’s hand and pulled him up from sitting on the bed.

“Here, try and tackle me head on,” Kaidan said a little out of breath.

Shepard smiled and cocked his head sideways, “I couldn’t. I’d break one of the millions of trophies around your room.”

“Just do it Shepard,” Kaidan was still smiling and Shepard gave in. He braced his stance and jolted toward Kaidan head-on. Kaidan pretending one of the books was the football and used one hand to push Shepard aside and toward the wall.

“See?” Kaidan looked triumphant, “It’s better to tackle with your shoulder in front and your forearm out. Especially if the person with the ball knows what they’re doing. And with the teams that play for Omega and Sovereign High, they’ll know what they’re doing.”

“Omega and Sovereign High?” Shepard asked snidely, “They the big dogs or something?”

“Oh yeah,” Kaidan nodded, “We’ve beat the Omega Mercenaries a couple times at regionals but have only beat the Sovereign Reapers once. The Reapers have won eight national championships in a row since then. If you ask me? It’s the coach. We only know him by Harbinger. The guy is even more notorious than the football coach over at Omega _and she’s one hell of a bitch._ ”

“What kind of screwed up team name is ‘the Reapers’? Or even the Mercenaries?” Shepard tried not to sound baffled.

“It’s fitting for them,” Kaidan laughed, “They’re one screwed up bunch of kids. The only reason why Alliance High won nine years ago was because some kid from Sovereign bit one of the players when tackling him down to the ground. Broke skin and almost took a chunk of his arm with him. They got disqualified that year for that. But they were winning.”

“That sounds... disgusting,” Shepard commented.

“And brutal,” Kaidan added, “Come on. Try tackling me again.”

This time Shepard stuck his shoulder forward and forearm out. As he pushed forward and hit Kaidan. He noticed he had a lot more force in the way he was standing. Kaidan noticed too as it launched both of them backwards. Kaidan’s head hit the sheets of his bed and Shepard fell on top of him.

“Nice job, Shepard,” Kaidan grinned. Shepard listened to the fast heartbeat as his head was pressed against Kaidan’s chest. For a moment it felt like they belonged perfectly together. Like puzzle pieces. Until Kaidan coughed and brought Shepard back to reality.

               Shepard got up and held his hand out to help Kaidan up. He grabbed it and Shepard held on firmly as he pulled Kaidan to his chest. They looked at each other still smiling. Shepard looked around awkwardly as Kaidan didn’t pull away. He finally looked at the clock; it was 7PM. Anderson was going to have it with him if he stayed out much longer without letting him know. Kaidan stepped back and also looked at the clock. His eyes seemed to get sadder and mixed with an emotion he hadn’t seen on the athlete before. Shepard took a deep breath, “I-I should go.”

               Shepard made his way to the door but was interrupted when a firm grasp held his arm in place effectively stopping him in his tracks. A quiet voice sounded from behind him, “Shepard, please don’t go yet. Stay for dinner.”

               It didn’t sound like Kaidan. It almost sounded like he was afraid. Even though Shepard didn’t want to admit it, when Kaidan sounded like that, he could tell him to jump off a bridge and he probably would, “S-Sure. I guess Anderson wouldn’t mind.”

               Kaidan looked down at his toes in defeat, “Thanks Shepard. You’re a great friend.”

               Shepard lifted Kaidan’s chin up to meet their eyes, “What’s wrong?”

               He didn’t answer. Shepard could see the conflicted emotions crashing like hurricanes behind his eyes. The silence between them was broken when a muffled crash was heard outside the bedroom. The sound of a door slamming.

               “ _There is this piece of shit truck parked outside. Who the hell put it there?”_ a voice from the living room said abruptly, “ _Supper better be ready.”_

               A female voice could be heard from the other end of the house. Kaidan swallowed and looked away from Shepard.

               “ _Where’s Kaidan?”_ the voice was getting closer. Kaidan jerked his head away from Shepard’s hands and stepped a few feet back. The door swung open and Shepard was greeted with a tall burly man wearing a police uniform standing in the doorway.

               “Supper will be ready soon,” Upon seeing Shepard, the man’s tone changed dramatically, “Is your friend going to be staying, Kaidan?”

               Kaidan looked at Shepard with big worried eyes. Shepard felt the walls he built as an emotional barrier crumble to the ground. He nodded his head once at Kaidan. Kaidan stuttered, “Y-yes. Yes, Shepard will be staying for din-supper. Sir.”

               “Okay,” The man nodded his head, smiled friendly at Shepard, and closed the door.

               Kaidan wiped his nose with the sleeve of his shirt, trying to hide the tears falling like raindrops from his cheeks. Shepard gave him his space.

               “He beat you didn’t he?” Shepard said as quietly as he managed.

Kaidan grabbed him by the collar and pushed him up against the wall. “It was a car accident, okay?!” His eyes seethed with anger and loss of control, “He. Did. Not. Beat. Me. I was hit by a car! Now stop asking questions!” Kaidan let Shepard’s collar go and bolted out the door.

Shepard took a bit to regain his composition. He straightened himself out and headed toward the kitchen. He peered behind his shoulder and saw the bathroom light on underneath the door.

The kitchen was spotless and perfect. Turkey was lying in the middle of the table with herbs and stuffing spread around it to make it look even more delicious on display. Shepard walked in and tried not to droll.

“Where’s Kaidan?” Mrs. Alenko leaned toward Shepard and whispered.

“He’s in the bathroom getting washed up,” Shepard answered, equally as quiet.

“Why don’t you go find a seat. You can sit anywhere, just not near the window. That’s where Donnie always sits.”

               Shepard sat down, leaving the seat farthest away from the window open for Kaidan. He observed the nicely placed porcelain plate and glass in front of him. This family must have it all. The bathroom door opened from down the hall and Kaidan came out patting his face down with a towel. He discarded the towel on the bathroom floor and made his way to the kitchen. Donnie came in after him and sat himself down in his infamous window chair. Kaidan observed his seat and a look of relief fell upon his expression as he noticed the distance placed between him and the older man.

               As all the men sat down Mrs. Alenko came over to cut the turkey. Shepard made a double take on Kaidan’s face. His eyes looked slightly puffy and red.

               “So Kaidan,” Donnie asked in a pleasant tone, “Who is your friend?”

               “This is Shepard,” Kaidan managed in a happier tone, “He joined the football team. Coach wanted me to get him caught up on everything.”

               “So you’re a new kid Shepard?” Donnie asked.

               “Yep.” Short and to the point. He didn’t want to waste any of his breath on this man. Dinner stayed like that. Both Kaidan and Shepard answered with short and to the point answers. He didn't know whether it was because Donnie was a cop or because of the tension between Donnie and Kaidan but Shepard had never felt more interrogated in his life.

               "Are you in Kaidan's grade?" Mrs. Alenko asked trying to keep up in their conversations.

               "Yes Ma'am," Shepard replied as kindly as he could manage.

               "So you're a senior like my boy. What are you going to do after High School?" Her voice was quiet and sweet but there was a tinge of demand behind it. Something that told Shepard that whatever answer he had he was going to be judged.

               "My father was in the service and was stationed in the Pacific. I'm thinking of joining the military after," Shepard replied glancing over at Kaidan. He didn't know whether he was imagining things or not but he swore he looked a little sad when Shepard brought up him joining the military.

               "My father was in the service too," Kaidan said quietly to Shepard. Mrs. Alenko stayed quiet and a discontented look passed over Donnie.

               "We don't talk about that at the dinner table Kaidan," Donnie snarled.

*

               Rain belted the side of the house and a freezing chill came in from outside. Kaidan rolled his eyes as Shepard refused when Mrs. Alenko offered him a jacket as they stood by the front door.

               “But Shepard,” Mrs. Alenko made one last plea, “It’s only twenty degrees out there. We have plenty of spare jackets.”

               “No thank you Mrs. Alenko. Thank you for the lovely dinner,” he had said it so kindly Kaidan almost swore Shepard made his mom blush.

               “Well thank you sweetie,” Mrs. Alenko waved Shepard off as he opened the door. A freezing chill rushed through the house that left all three of them shaking. “Be careful driving.”

               Kaidan grabbed the stubborn boy by the arm before he could walk out the door. He pulled off his varsity jacket and threw it onto Shepard.

               “Put it on,” Kaidan demanded. Shepard opened his mouth to say something but was left with a gaping mouth of disbelief. He gave in and fumbled with the jacket in his arms. He pulled his arms through the sleeves and waved off the Alenko family, slamming the door behind him. He forgot to say thank you.

               Mrs. Alenko looked at Kaidan and the silence settled through the house. She looked around for Donnie but he was long since passed out from Alcohol in the master bedroom. With quiet thoughtfulness she leaned into Kaidan and whispered quietly, “I’ve never heard you laugh that much in a while.”

               Kaidan looked at the ground and tried to remember the last time he enjoyed himself as much as he enjoyed the company of Shepard, “Yeah. Yeah I guess it has been a while.”

               “You’re never like that when Grunt comes over,” Mom observed, “not even like that when Jimmy comes over.”

               “Shepard is different, mom.”

               “You really like this boy don’t you?” She asked.

“No, I-It’s not tha,” Kaidan crossed his arms and huffed, “What do you mean by that?”

“That’s something for you to figure out yourself. I just want to see you happy,” She put his hand on his shoulder and walked off into the darkness of the hallway.

Kaidan stood there motionless for a few seconds, pondering his thoughts and feelings on Shepard. He was a good friend but they had only met recently. They even hated each other at first and only began liking each other a couple hours ago.

He made his way toward his bedroom. Upon entering he stripped his clothes off and slipped underneath the covers. He laid there and thought about Shepard.

About how he stole his parking space, about how he punched him in the face, about how he smiled. _Woah, getting off track there_. Dr. Solus sitting Shepard next to him in Biology, the way Shepard kept staring at him, how blue his eyes were. _Kaidan stop it, you’re getting weird now._ How Shepard stole his parking space again, Shepard’s hand on him when they fought, Kaidan legs straddling Shepard’s hips in front of the student body. The hard on Kaidan had tried to hide.

Before he knew it his hand slipped underneath the covers and below his waistline. Kaidan closed his eyes and pictured Shepard underneath him again and the things he would do to him. Maybe alone in his bed or maybe in front of all those students. It didn’t matter however, because Shepard was his. And only his. He’d lean down and linger there in front of his lips. He'd taste like boy, like something forbidden and taboo. He wanted to kiss Shepard so bad. He wondered if his lips were different than girl lips. He wondered if he'd feel the soft scratch of stubble and the hot breath of Shepard.

Kaidan continued to think about him. This time letting the dirty thoughts break past the levee in his mind. _The way he looked in his football uniform._ Kaidan bit his lip. _The way the sweat dripped from his face._ His grip tightened. _They way he helped Kaidan in the shower._

Kaidan had forgotten all about the shower incident. His face grew red with embarrassment. He thought he was alone. He’d done it so many times before it had became habit. The last thing he thought would happen would to be for Shepard to walk in on him like that. He saw them, the bruises, and he saw him crying. He saw everything.

Kaidan stared at the ceiling on the verge of tears. He felt disgusted with himself. He was feeling things for Shepard, things he should be feeling for Miranda or Rahna. Damn was he confused but he couldn’t get his mind off that boy. _Boy._ Shepard was a _boy._ Kaidan gasped and tried to hold in a moan as a sudden release jolted through his body.


End file.
